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Pardoning a crook President Chandrika Kumaratunga has bestowed a presidential pardon on a multi - million rupee tax defaulter who is a former Chairman of the Ja-Ela Pradeshiya Sabha, a member of her own political party. This seems to be the nadir in Presidential abuse of power, and there can be no mistake about it - abuse of power it is. This is a terrible example being set by the President to the honest tax paying citizens of this country. Former US President Bill Clinton granted such a pardon to a convicted swindler on his way out of office, and was lambasted in the US press for this last Presidential act. It is strange that an incumbent President can offer such a pardon and continue without much embarrassment to herself. Such acts bring
into disrepute the office of the President, and they justify those
who are opposed to constitutional provisions such as presidential
immunity. The appropriateness of the constitutional powers of Presidential
discretion on various key issues, is also brought into question. Worse than
the offence here seems to be the defence that has been trotted out
by the Presidential press secretary who says that "one Gonewela
Sunil" was granted a pardon by former President J. R. Jayewardene,
with regard to a conviction of rape. It requires a remarkable thickness
of skin, to justify one's own disreputable act by pointing to a
similar act by another. It exposes the puerile depths of Sri Lankan
politics, in which the prevailing dicta seems to be " if they
are like us, we must be like them.'' Small wonder the people conclude
"unuth ekai, munuth ekai' - they are all the same. The simultaneous scenario is that the President is tinkering with the command structure of the armed forces intent on splitting the forces down the middle by retaining service commanders who are loyal to her. Her extension of the Navy Commander for three years is shocking to say the least. Appointments based on personal loyalties which compromise overall national security interests, can only happen in countries that have political leadership of the type that Sri Lanka has. The downsizing of the armed forces is an indication that peace is on - but will there be no contingency mechanism if war were to break out again? No attention has been paid, even in retrospect, to corruption in the armed forces. This includes the gamut which ranges from multi million rupee tenders which end up as palatial houses and certificates of deposit, to mid - level officers playing out pay packets of deserters and pocketing their food allowances at the expense of the State, by not reporting the deserters! All this corruption no doubt has a trickle - down effect, going all the way to the foot soldier asking for a bribe from the lorry driver to let his illegal cargo through. These may be put down as the inevitable spoils of war that accrue to some people, but the government should pay attention to this aspect of the malaise in the military, which is on par with the deficiencies in the communal structure and the chronic in-fighting that has characterized the military in recent years, and which has resulted in bartering away of self-rule to a bunch of brigand terrorists, due to the collective inability to wipe them out.
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